HE
time between midday and evening wore on while the Æsir and the Vanir
gathered for the feast in old Ægir's hall listened to the stories
that Loki told in mockery of Thor. The night came, but no banquet was
made ready for the Dwellers in Asgard. They called to Ægir's two
underservants, Fimaffenger and Elder, and they bade them bring them a
supper. Slight was what they got, but they went to bed saying, "Great
must be the preparations that old Ægir is making to feast us
tomorrow."

The
morrow came and the midday of the morrow, and still the Dwellers in
Asgard saw no preparations being made for the banquet. Then Frey rose
up and went to seek old Ægir, the Giant King of the Sea. He found
him sitting with bowed head in his inner hall. "Ho, Ægir,"
he said, "what of the banquet that you have offered to the
Dwellers in Asgard?"

Old
Ægir mumbled and pulled at his beard. At last he looked his guest in
the face and told why the banquet was not being made ready. The mead
for the feast was not yet brewed. And there was little chance of
being able to brew mead that would do for all, for Ægir's hall was
lacking a mead kettle that would contain enough.

When
the Æsir and the Vanir heard this they were sorely disappointed. Who
now, outside of Asgard, would give them a feast? Ægir was the only
one of the Giants who was friendly to them, and Ægir could not give
them full entertainment.

Then
a Giant youth who was there spoke up and said, "My kinsman, the
Giant Hrymer, has a mead kettle that is a mile wide. If we could
bring Hrymer's kettle here, what a feast we might have!"

"One
of us can go for that kettle," Frey said.

"Ah,
but Hrymer's dwelling is beyond the deepest forest and behind the
highest mountain," the Giant youth said, "and Hrymer
himself is a rough and a churlish one to call on."

"Still,
one of us should go," Frey said.

"I
will go to Hrymer's dwelling," said Thor, standing up. "I
will go to Hrymer's dwelling and get the mile-wide kettle from him by
force or cunning." He had been sitting subdued under the mocking
tales that Loki told of him and he was pleased with this chance to
make his prowess plain to the Æsir and the Vanir. He buckled on the
belt that doubled his strength. He drew on the iron gloves that
enabled him to grasp Miolnir. He took his hammer in his hands, and he
signed to the Giant youth to come with him and be his guide.

The
Æsir and the Vanir applauded Thor as he stepped out of old Ægir's
hall. But Loki, mischievous Loki, threw a gibe after him. "Do
not let the hammer out of your hands this time, bride of Thrym,"
he shouted.

Thor,
with the Giant youth to guide him, went through the deepest forest
and over the highest mountain. He came at last to the Giant's
dwelling. On a hillock before Hrymer's house was a dreadful warden; a
Giant crone she was, with heads a-many growing out of her shoulders.
She was squatting down on her ankles, and her heads, growing in
bunches, were looking in different directions. As Thor and the Giant
youth came near screams and yelps came from all her heads. Thor
grasped his hammer and would have flung it at her if a Giant woman,
making a sign of peace, had not come to the door of the dwelling. The
youthful Giant who was with Thor greeted her as his mother.

The
Giant crone — she was Hrymer's grandmother — kept up her
screaming and yelping. But Thor went past her and into the Giant's
dwelling.

When
she saw that it was one of the Dwellers in Asgard who had come with
her son the Giant woman grew fearful for them both. "Hrymer,"
she said, "will be in a rage to find one of the Æsir under his
roof. He will strive to slay you."

"It
is not likely he will succeed," Thor said, grasping Miolnir, the
hammer that all the Giant race knew of and dreaded.

"Hide
from him," said the Giant woman. "He may injure my son in
his rage to find you here."

"I
am not wont to hide from the Giants," Thor said.

"Hide
only for a little while! Hide until Hrymer has eaten," the Giant
woman pleaded. "He comes back from the chase in a stormy temper.
After he has eaten he is easier to deal with. Hide until he has
finished supper."

Thor
at last agreed to do this. He and the Giant youth hid behind a pillar
in the hall. They were barely hidden when they heard the clatter of
the Giant's steps as he came through the courtyard. He came to the
door. His beard was like a frozen forest around his mouth. And he
dragged along with him a wild bull that he had captured in the chase.
So proud was he of his capture that he dragged it into the hall.

"I
have taken alive," he shouted, "the bull with the mightiest
head and horns. 'Heaven — breaking' this bull is called. No Giant
but me could capture it." He tied the bull to the post of the
door and then his eyes went toward the pillar behind which Thor and
the Giant youth were hiding. The pillar split up its whole length at
that look from Hrymer's eyes. He came nearer. The pillar of stone
broke across. It fell with the crossbeam it supported and all the
kettles and cauldrons that were hanging on the beam came down with a
terrible rattle.

Then
Thor stepped out and faced the wrathful Giant. "It is I who am
here, friend Hrymer," he said, his hands resting on his hammer.

Then
Hrymer, who knew Thor and knew the force of Thor's hammer, drew back.
"Now that you are in my house, Asa Thor," he said, "I
will not quarrel with you. Make supper ready for Asa Thor and your
son and myself," said he to the Giant woman.

A
plentiful supper was spread and Hrymer and Thor and the Giant youth
sat down to three whole roast oxen. Thor ate the whole of one ox.
Hrymer, who had eaten nearly two himself, leaving only small cuts for
his wife and his youthful kinsman, grumbled at Thor's appetite.
"You'll clear my fields, Asa Thor," he said, "if you
stay long with me."

"Do
not grumble, Hrymer," Thor said. "Tomorrow I'll go fishing
and I'll bring you back the weight of what I ate."

"Then
instead of hunting I'll go fishing with you tomorrow, Asa Thor,"
said Hrymer. "And don't be frightened if I take you out on a
rough sea."

Hrymer
was first out of bed the next morning. He came with the pole and the
ropes in his hand to where Thor was sleeping. "Time to start
earning your meal, Asa Thor," said he.

Thor
got out of bed, and when they were both in the courtyard the Giant
said, "You'll have to provide a bait for yourself. Mind that you
take a bait large enough. It is not where the little fishes are, the
place where I'm going to take you. If you never saw monsters before
you'll see them now. I'm glad, Asa Thor, that you spoke of going
fishing."

"Will
this bait be big enough?" said Thor, laying his hands on the
horns of the bull that Hrymer had captured and brought home, the bull
with the mighty head of horns that was called "Heaven-breaking."
"Will this bait be big enough, do you think?"

"Yes,
if you're big enough to handle it", said the Giant.

Thor
said nothing, but he struck the bull full in the middle of the
forehead with his fist. The great creature fell down dead. Thor then
twisted the bull's head off. "I have my bait and I'm ready to go
with you, Hrymer," he said.

Hrymer
had turned away to hide the rage he was in at seeing Thor do such a
feat. He walked down to the boat without speaking. "You may row
for the first few strokes," said Hrymer, when they were in the
boat, "but when we come to where the ocean is rough, why I'll
take the oars from you."

Without
saying a word Thor made a few strokes that took the boat out into the
middle of the ocean. Hrymer was in a rage to think that he could not
show himself greater than Thor. He let out his line and began to
fish. Soon he felt something huge on his hook. The boat rocked and
rocked till Thor steadied it. Then Hrymer drew into the boat the
largest whale that was in these seas.

"Good
fishing," said Thor, as he put his own bait on the line.

'It's
something for you to tell the Æsir, " said Hrymer.

"I
thought as you were here I'd show you something bigger than
salmon-fishing."

"I'll
try my luck now," said Thor.

He
threw out a line that had at the end of it the mighty horned head of
the great bull. Down, down the head went. It passed where the whales
swim, and the whales were afraid to gulp at the mighty horns. Down,
down it went till it came near where the monster serpent that coils
itself round the world abides. It reared its head up from its serpent
coils as Thor's bait came down through the depths of the ocean. It
gulped at the head and drew it into its gullet. There the great hook
stuck. Terribly surprised was I the serpent monster. It lashed the
ocean into a fury. But still the hook stayed. Then it strove to draw
down to the depths of the ocean the boat of those who had hooked it.
Thor put his legs across the boat and stretched them till they
touched the bottom bed of the ocean. On the bottom bed of the ocean
Thor stood and he pulled and he pulled on his line. The serpent
monster lashed the ocean into fiercer and fiercer storms and all the
world's ships were hurled against each other and wrecked and tossed.
But it had to loosen coil after coil of the coils it makes around the
world. Thor pulled and pulled. Then the terrible head of the serpent
monster appeared above the waters. It reared over the boat that
Hrymer sat in and that Thor straddled across. Thor dropped the line
and took up Miolnir, his mighty hammer. He raised it to strike the
head of the serpent monster whose coils go round the world. But
Hrymer would not have that happen. Rather than have Thor pass him by
such a feat he cut the line, and the head of the serpent monster sank
back into the sea. Thor's hammer was raised. He hurled it, hurled
that hammer that always came back to his hand. It followed the
sinking head through fathom after fathom of the ocean depth. It
struck the serpent monster a blow, but not such a deadly blow as
would have been struck if the water had not come between. A bellow of
pain came up from the depths of the ocean, such a bellow of pain that
all in Jotunheim were affrighted.

"This
surely is something to tell the Æsir of," said Thor, "something
to make them forget Loki's mockeries."

Without
speaking Hrymer turned the boat and rowed toward the shore, dragging
the whale in the wake. He was in such a rage to think that one of the
Æsir had done a feat surpassing his that he would not speak. At
supper, too, he remained silent, but Thor talked for two, boasting
loudly of his triumph over the monster serpent.

"No
doubt you think yourself very powerful, Asa Thor," Hrymer said
at last. "Well, do you think you are powerful enough to break
the cup that is before you?"

Thor
took up the cup and with a laugh he hurled it against the stone
pillar of the house. The cup fell down on the floor without a crack
or a dint in it. But the pillar was shattered with the blow.

The
Giant laughed. "So feeble are the folk of Asgard!" he said.

Thor
took up the cup again and flung it with greater force against the
stone pillar. And again the cup fell to the ground without a crack or
a dint.

Then
he heard the woman who was the mother of the Giant youth sing softly,
as she plied her wheel behind him:

Not
at the pillar of the stead,
But
at Hrymer's massy head:
When
you next the goblet throw,
Let
his head receive the blow.

Thor
took the cup up again. He flung it, not at the pillar this time, but
at Hrymer's head. It struck the Giant full on the forehead and fell
down on the floor in pieces. And Hrymer's head was left without a
dint or a crack.

"Ha,
so you can break a cup, but can you lift up my mile-wide kettle?"
cried the Giant.

"Show
me where your mile-wide kettle is and I shall try to lift it,"
cried Thor.

The
Giant took up the flooring and showed him the mile-wide kettle down
in the cellar. Thor stooped down and took the kettle by the brim. He
lifted it slowly as if with a mighty effort.

"You
can lift, but can you carry it?" said the Giant.

"I
will try to do that," said Thor. He lifted the kettle up and
placed it on his head. He strode to the door and out of the house
before the Giant could lay hands on him. Then when he was outside he
started to run. He was across the mountain before he looked behind
him. He heard a yelping and a screaming and he saw the Giant crone
with the bunch of heads running, running after him. Up hill and down
dale Thor raced, the mile-wide kettle on his head and the Giant crone
in chase of him. Through the deep forest he ran and over the high
mountain, but still Bunch-of-Heads kept him in chase. But at last,
jumping over a lake, she fell in and Thor was free of his pursuer.

And
so back to the Æsir and the Vanir Thor came in triumph, carrying on
his head the mile-wide kettle. And those of the Æsir and the Vanir
who had laughed most at Loki's mockeries rose up and cheered for him
as he came in. The mead was brewed, the feast was spread, and the
greatest banquet that ever the Kings of the Giants gave to the
Dwellers in Asgard was eaten in gladness.

A
strange and silent figure sat at the banquet. It was the figure of a
Giant and no one knew who he was nor where he had come from. But when
the banquet was ended Odin, the Eldest of the Gods, turned toward
this figure and said, "O Skyrmir, Giant King of Utgard, rise up
now and tell Thor of all you practiced upon him when he and Loki came
to your City."

Then
the stranger at the banquet stood up, and Thor and Loki saw he was
the Giant King in whose halls they had had the contests. Skyrmir
turned toward them and said:

"O
Thor and O Loki, I will reveal to you now the deceits I practiced on
you both. It was I whom ye met on the Moorland on the day before ye
came into Utgard. I gave you my name as Skyrmir and I did all I might
do to prevent your entering our City, for the Giants dreaded a
contest of strength with Asa Thor. Now hear me, O Thor. The wallet I
gave for you to take provisions out of was tied with magic knots. No
one could undo them by strength or cleverness. And while you were
striving to undo them I placed a mountain of rock between myself and
you. The hammer blows, which as you thought struck me, struck the
mountain and made great clefts and gaps in it. When I knew the
strength of your tremendous blows I was more and more in dread of
your coming into our City.

"I
saw you would have to be deceived by magic. Your lad Thialfi was the
one whom I first deceived. For it was not a Giant youth who raced
against him, but Thought itself. And even you, O Loki, I deceived.
For when you tried to make yourself out the greatest of eaters I
pitted against you, not a Giant, but Fire that devours everything.

"You,
Thor, were deceived in all the contests. After you had taken the
drinking horn in your hands we were all affrighted to see how much
you were able to gulp down. For the end of that horn was in the sea,
and Ægir, who is here, can tell you that after you had drunk from
it, the level of the sea went down.

"The
cat whom you strove to lift was Nidhogg, the dragon that gnaws at the
roots of Ygdrassil, the Tree of Trees. Truly we were terrified when
we saw that you made Nidhogg budge. When you made the back of the cat
reach the roof of our palace we said to ourselves, 'Thor is the
mightiest of all the beings we have known.'

"Lastly
you strove with the hag Ellie. Her strength seemed marvelous to you,
and you thought yourself disgraced because you could not throw her.
But know, Thor, that Ellie whom you wrestled with was Old Age
herself. We were terrified again to see that she who can overthrow
all was not able to force you prone upon the ground."

So
Skyrmir spoke and then left the hall. And once more the Æsir and the
Vanir stood up and cheered for Thor, the strongest of all who guarded
Asgard.